Account Reference – Virtual CLABEs

Shareable Receiving Accounts for Mexico Payins (SPEI)

Virtual CLABEs are a type of Account Reference in Cobre that allow businesses to collect funds in Mexico using CLABE account numbers that are valid inside the SPEI network. These Virtual CLABEs can be shared with customers so they can send MXN funds through their bank, while the money is ultimately processed and credited into the associated Cobre Balance.

Virtual CLABEs provide a scalable way to create multiple receiving identifiers for a single balance—ideal for payment attribution, reconciliation, and multi-customer collection setups.

1. What Cobre Enables with Virtual CLABEs

With Virtual CLABEs, Cobre allows businesses to:

Create Virtual CLABE account numbers that are valid within SPEI

Associate each Virtual CLABE to a Mexico Cobre Balance (MXN)

Share Virtual CLABEs with customers to receive bank transfers

Collect funds from any institution capable of sending SPEI transfers

Identify which Virtual CLABE received each payment using transaction metadata

Enable multiple receiving references per balance, supporting scaled collections

This turns a single Cobre Balance into a multi-reference payin destination for Mexico.

2. Virtual CLABEs in the Cobre Model

In Cobre, Virtual CLABEs are Account References of type virtual_clabe_accounts. They are linked to a CLABE account created through the Create Account endpoint, meaning they ultimately map back to a Mexico Cobre Balance.

Conceptually:

Cobre Balance (MXN) = the account where funds end up

Virtual CLABE = the shareable receiving identifier customers send money to

SPEI Credit Transaction = the evidence of funds received in Cobre

Virtual CLABEs should be understood as references linked to a CLABE account, and therefore all transactions are ultimately processed on the associated Cobre Balance account.

3. Key Capabilities & How Collections Work

3.1 Shareable Receiving Identifiers

A Virtual CLABE can be shared with customers for collections purposes, allowing them to initiate transfers from their financial institution.

3.2 Multiple Virtual CLABEs per Balance

It is recommended to create multiple Virtual CLABEs associated with the same Cobre Balance, rather than creating only one reference per account. This is especially relevant because there is a limited number of Mexico Cobre Balance accounts that can be used to create Virtual CLABEs.

This design supports use cases like:

One Virtual CLABE per customer

One Virtual CLABE per invoice

One Virtual CLABE per business line or channel

3.3 Attribution Through Transaction Metadata

When a customer transfers funds to a Virtual CLABE, the credit appears as a SPEI credit transaction (spei_credit) in the associated Cobre Balance. The transaction includes an account_reference field that identifies which Virtual CLABE received the transfer.

This enables strong reconciliation and payment routing logic.

4. Lifecycle & Control (Enabled / Disabled)

Virtual CLABEs have a simple lifecycle with two states:

enabled (default): ready to receive transactions

disabled: reached after invoking the delete method; transfers sent to the Virtual CLABE will be rejected

This provides operational controls to manage or retire receiving references without changing the underlying balance.

5. Transactions, Reporting & Reconciliation

Virtual CLABE payins generate SPEI credit transactions (spei_credit) in the associated Cobre Balance.

From a finance and operations perspective, this enables:

Balance-level visibility of all incoming payins

Reference-level attribution via account_reference

Scalable reconciliation for high-volume payin operations

Because Virtual CLABEs behave as a reference layer, they are ideal for businesses that need clean matching between payins and internal records.

6. Supported Combinations (Mexico)

The supported setup for Virtual CLABEs includes:

Account Type: Cobre Balance

Provider: pr_mex_cobre3

Geo: MEX

Account Reference Type: virtual_clabe_accounts

Example value format: 70301105231100001

7. Key Considerations

When using Virtual CLABEs, keep in mind:

You must have a Mexico Cobre Balance to create a Virtual CLABE reference.

There is a limited number of Mexico balances that can be used for Virtual CLABE creation; therefore, it is recommended to create multiple Virtual CLABEs per balance rather than only one per account.

Mexico Cobre Balance accounts from provider pr_mex_cobre3 cannot be deleted if they have been used to create Virtual CLABEs.

These considerations are important for long-term account architecture and lifecycle planning.

8. Summary — What Cobre Delivers with Virtual CLABEs

With Virtual CLABEs, Cobre enables:

Shareable SPEI-compatible CLABE references for Mexico collections
Multiple receiving references per Cobre Balance for scale and attribution
Clear reconciliation via SPEI credit transactions and account_reference metadata
Simple lifecycle controls (enabled / disabled with rejection behavior)
A structured model for payins in Mexico using standard banking rails (SPEI)

Account Reference – Virtual CLABEs

Shareable Receiving Accounts for Mexico Payins (SPEI)#

1. What Cobre Enables with Virtual CLABEs#

2. Virtual CLABEs in the Cobre Model#

3. Key Capabilities & How Collections Work#

3.1 Shareable Receiving Identifiers#

3.2 Multiple Virtual CLABEs per Balance#

3.3 Attribution Through Transaction Metadata#

4. Lifecycle & Control (Enabled / Disabled)#

5. Transactions, Reporting & Reconciliation#

6. Supported Combinations (Mexico)#

7. Key Considerations#

8. Summary — What Cobre Delivers with Virtual CLABEs#